S5 E6 Disaster Relief & S5 E15 Full Disclosure
by JDPostEpisodeChallenge
Summary: Written by SeaDog11 for the JDPostEpisodeChallenge Chapter 1 is Season 5 Episode 6 "Disaster Relief" Chapter 2 is Season 5 Episode 15 "Full Disclosure" *** I hope you enjoy the story!
1. Chapter 1

Written by SeaDog11 for the JDPostEpisodeChallenge

(SeaDog11's Second-go at writing Fan Fiction)

*** This will be a two-part story. Part One is Season 5 Episode 6 "Disaster Relief" and Part Two is Season 5 Episode 15 "Full Disclosure" *** I hope you enjoy the story!

Note: For this chapter, everything that is in Italics are direct quotes from the episode.

Rating: Ehhh somewhere between T and M, I think. So please don't read if you're under 18. Again, nothing too explicit, but ya know, there are adult themes and situations.

 **Late July, 2003**

It was late when Josh got to her apartment. Sure he'd come over late before, usually to blow off steam, to have a beer or two, but tonight was different. His dinner with Ryan had changed everything. Not three hours earlier, he was waiting for Congressman Wilcox at Morten's, only to be joined by Ryan. He ran the earlier events of the evening through his mind again:

o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0oo0o0o

 _"_ _Wilcox is running late"_

 _"_ _No. Sorry. He's not coming. He just called the restaurant."_

 _"_ _Donna sent you? . . . Just in case."_

 _"_ _What's good?"_

Ryan's answer had told Josh everything he needed to know. Donna had sent him. Deep down she must have known that Wilcox was going to stand him up, leaving Josh alone and embarrassed at a popular restaurant among DC Political Players. She was looking out for him, protecting him, just like she always did.

Josh had to admit that the dinner with Ryan had been pleasant. The two made friendly conversation about the Nationals, Mets, and years at Harvard. However, Josh still couldn't take his mind off of everything Donna had done for him this week. Hell, he couldn't take his mind off of everything that Donna had done for him in nearly six years. How did he get so lucky to have her in his life?

Later that evening, after his cathartic scream at the Capitol building, Josh finally came to terms with his feelings. He loved her, he loved Donnatella Moss with every fiber of his being. He had been in love with her since the first campaign, but he had never let himself think about it. Thinking about it meant acknowledging it, which meant feeling it, something he just couldn't allow himself to do. Instead, he had teased her incessantly about gomers, he let himself be ensorcelled, and he watched her date Commander Wonderful even though he was unbelievably jealous. But he just couldn't do it anymore. Not after tonight. Not after what she did for him. Now he was letting himself acknowledge it, feel it.

o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0

Bringing himself back to the present, Josh opened the apartment building security door with the spare key Donna had given him years back and walked up one flight of stairs to her unit. "You can do this Josh," he mumbled to himself. He was starting to get nervous and his palms were getting sweaty, he needed a little pep-talk with himself to calm down. He knocked on her door as quietly as possible, even though it's not really an attainable goal to knock "quietly" on someone's door at 1:30am and still have them hear it. He knocked a little louder.

"Josh?" She answered as she rubbed the sleep from her eye.

"Ummm, hi." That was all he could find the courage to say.

"Josh what are you doing here? It's late it's, God what time is it?"

"How do you know it's late if you don't know what time it is Donnatella?" He asked, feeling a little more courageous with the help of his banter.

"Ugh Joooosh, sometimes you just know it's late without even looking at the clock." She was sounding exasperated. Josh thought she sounded adorable. He couldn't help but think this must be a personality trait of hers that comes out when she's woken up in the middle of the night and still half asleep. He smiled, he hadn't realized that there was still so much to discover about each other, despite the fact that they had been working 12 hour days together for almost six years.

"What are you smiling about? And seriously Joshua, what time is it?" She folded her arms, now clearly showing just how irritated she was.

Josh took in her appearance, he had been so focused on her reaction to the late hour and how nervous he felt, that his brain didn't register what she was wearing. She had on these cute little plaid pajama shorts and a red tank top. The tank top was tight and a terrific contrast to her alabaster skin, her incredible legs . . . He was doing everything he could not to stare.

"You. I'm smiling about you. And you are correct, it is late, it's 1:30".

"See I told you it was late. And why are you laughing at me, that's not nice."

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm just smiling. You make me smile."

"You're being sweet. Why are you being sweet? Come inside I'll make coffee. But I'm NOT bringing it to you. You can do that part yourself. I'm just brewing it."

He closed the door quietly and locked it. He followed her into her little kitchen and sat at the table. "So I yelled at the Capitol building tonight."

"Yeah? Well, sometimes it needs to be yelled at."

"What's all this?" He asked, noting the files she had scattered across the table.

 _"_ _It's my "What a Shame" folder. All the stuff we never have time for. Stuff we thought we'd fix when we got here, but we never did . . . Foreign adoption policies, hybrid energy partnerships, extending the Roadless Conservation Plan- okay this one's not a shame, I just didn't want to deal with it . . . Funding special education for kids with disabilities, ammunition control what's a gun without bullets?, a 21st century Teacher Corps- we've got all those baby boomer teachers retiring, mentor programming . . ."_ she continued on as she started to brew the hazelnut coffee.

He looked at her stunned. She knew that Leo had scaled back his portfolio, that he was giving his legislative duties to someone else. He was no longer handling the cap gains tax cuts and the budget negotiations. It had all been taken from him, as a result of his mess up with Carrick. Again, here she was looking out for him, keeping him busy. Reminding him that there are other important issues that need some attention.

"So you came home tonight, and went through all of these projects, for me?"

"Yeah, I need to keep you busy, keep you out of my hair," she said over her shoulder, rewarding him with a bright smile. "God, she's beautiful," Josh thought to himself. He was glad to see she was waking up, leaving her sleep-induced haze, even though he found it endearing.

Slowly, he got up from his seat, removing his jacket and throwing it over the chair. He had his courage now. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her around from the coffee pot. He brought his hands down to rest on her hips. For a moment they stood there, looking into each other's eyes. Brown eyes looking into surprised and confused blue eyes. Blue eyes looking into determined and unwavering brown eyes. Donna knew he needed to tell her something and Josh knew that his actions were confusing her. Still, Josh noticed that she had immediately put her hands around his shoulders.

"Donna, you once said if I were in an accident, you wouldn't stop for red lights. You didn't mean that you would just be there for me if I were in physical pain, you meant emotional pain too. Like tonight, that's why you sent Ryan to have dinner with me."

"Yes Josh. I wouldn't stop for red lights if you were in ANY type of pain," she said softly. And that was all he needed to hear to be able to say what was on his mind.

"I love you, Donnatella Moss. I'm in love with you."

"About time you told me Joshua Lyman," she said in a whisper as she put her hands on his chest and smiled.

"Thank you for being patient. I'm sorry I took so long to tell you, I'm sorry for putting you through any pain," he said pulling her closer to him. "Do you love me, Donna?"

"Well, I said I wouldn't stop for red lights, didn't I?" She said with a smile. He knew what she was saying, but he really needed to hear her say the words. He looked at her, vulnerability in his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest, silently begging her to answer his question. And because she is so in-tune with him and because she had been waiting patiently to tell him that she loved him for years, she answered his question.

"I love you, I love you so much Joshua Lyman, since the moment you gave me your Bartlet for America badge, and I've been in love with you ever since."

"Looks like we've both been carrying a secret since 1998, he whispered as he gave her his biggest deep-dimpled smile. What came next was only natural. Placing his hands on her face, he gently stroked her cheeks and leaned in to kiss her. The moment their lips met it felt unbelievably right. He felt a wave course through his body. The kiss started soft and light, but quickly deepened as hands started to roam. His were in her hair, hers were on his back and then tugging slightly on the curls at the base of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, they both opened their mouths a little to explore one another. She sighed in pleasure as he tugged on her lower lip, he moaned in contentment as her tongue met his for the first time. He'd never experienced a kiss like this before, ever. It had everything to do with the fact that it was Donna. He was finally kissing the woman he was meant to be with.

"I don't think I want coffee anymore, do you?" She asked breathlessly.

"No, I think I found something else to keep us awake," Josh said as he began a trail kisses from Donna's neck to her ear.

"Josh . . ." she responded breathlessly as he tugged a little bit on her earlobe.

"We can move this to your bedroom, if you're comfortable with that. If not, we can wait. I will wait as long as you want to."

"I want this Josh. More than anything. But . . ."

He broke away from her ear to notice a tear streaming down her face. He caught it with his thumb.

"Oh Donna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, Josh it's not that." She said with a shy smile. "I want this. Every part of me wants to take you down the hall to my bed. It's just that . . ."

"You can tell me Donna."

"Two weeks ago you were sleeping with Amy," she said quietly, dropping her gaze to the floor.

And that's when he saw it. He saw the hurt in her eyes. She had been in love with him for nearly six years, and had to watch him be with Amy for six months. He only had to hear about her dates. They were nothing serious except for Commander Wonderful, which hadn't lasted that long. He had been wildly jealous over Commander Jack Reese. He felt terrible knowing that Donna had to experience a similar pain seeing him and Amy together. She was nursing a broken heart right under his nose, but she never let on that she was hurting. The thought of her coming home sad and alone at night, possibly crying because of something he said about Amy, or asking her to make reservations for him and Amy at a nice restaurant, or asking her to make his apartment look like a Tahitian resort . . . it pained him. Then what does he do? He starts up a little fling with Amy again a year later, breaking Donna's heart all over again. Of course she wasn't ready to be intimate with him. What was he thinking?

"I'm so sorry Donna. C'mere," he whispered.

She leaned into him, letting Josh wrap her in his arms. He stroked her hair, her back, kissed her forehead. They stayed like that for a few minutes. He wanted to wash away any hurt that she was feeling.

"Since the day I met you," Josh began, still holding her close. " Since the day I met you, I had to put all of my feelings about you in a box and store that box in the back of my mind and my heart. At the time, I thought that because you were my assistant, that you were absolutely off-limits to me. I knew that if I thought about you, then I would have to acknowledge my feelings. So instead I told myself we had to wait. It would have been different, had you been Toby's assistant or even Sam's, but you were mine and we worked so well together, a perfect fit. I figured that if I got to see you every day that would hold me over until we were in a place where I could tell you how I feel. Donna it's my biggest regret, waiting to tell you. Looking back, we probably could have gone to Leo, and everything would have worked out fine. We could have had both a personal and professional relationship. If you let me, I would love to make up for lost time."

Donna didn't say anything, but she looked up from the crook of Josh's neck and gave him a kiss and a smile. It was enough positive reinforcement for Josh to continue. He needed her to know everything.

"I also need you to know about Amy." Josh felt her body go rigid in his embrace. He ran his hands along her back lovingly, reassuringly. "The first time, I was ensorcelled. But I wasn't in love." He took a moment to look her in the eyes before he continued, "Donna, I was never in love with Amy. The box of feelings I was telling you about, the box was always there, just waiting to be opened. I could never love another woman with that box being stored in my mind and my heart. That box was a special delivery for Donnatella Moss, unfortunately it was the slowest delivery time. I should have just paid extra for the two day shipping, or hell I should have over-nighted it." They both laughed at his silly joke, but she knew what he was saying.

"The second time, I just needed to be distracted more than I realized, with everything going on at the White House, with Zoe's kidnapping, Glen Allen Walken being president. I quickly realized how much of a mistake it was. Yes, the last time I had sex with Amy was a little over two weeks ago. But that's all it was, sex. It was just physical, nothing else. If you're not ready to do anything more than just kiss tonight, that is more than okay with me. We can wait. But I need you to know, that if we go to your bedroom, we wouldn't be having sex. We would be making love." He paused and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing, "Donna I've never made love to a woman before."

And that changed everything. Donna's pain and insecurity about Amy quickly began to dissipate. She looked into his deep brown eyes and saw nothing but love, admiration, and trust there. She grabbed his hand and kissed his palm, intertwining his fingers with her own. She tugged his arm a little and whispered, "I've never made love before either, Josh. But I want you to make love to me."

"Donna I don't want to rush you. Are you sure you're ready?"

"Mmmmhmmm. Take me to bed, Joshua."

She led him down the hallway, her room lit only by a small light on her nightstand. Josh discarded his shoes and kicked them to the side before grabbing Donna and kissing her thoroughly. "I love you," he said, as he began to kiss her neck and collar bone, then moving his hands to the hem of her tank top, he slowly removed it. The air caught in his lungs at the first sight of her breasts, she was absolutely perfect. "My God, Donna you're beautiful." She smiled as he kissed her, and she began to remove his tie, then his dress shirt. Together they fell on the bed, and the first thing Donna did at the sight of his bare chest was tell him how much she loves him while taking her time kissing his scars, eliciting a moan from Josh. He placed his hands on her face and told her that besides his physicians, she was the only one who had ever seen his scars. He kissed his way from her neck to her stomach, eager to explore every inch of her. He looked at her reverently, and gently traced his finger along a faded scar on the lower right side of her stomach. "What's this from?" Josh asked as he placed kisses along the faded white line.

"I had my appendix taken out."

"Wow, really? How old were you?" He asked still kissing her scar.

"Seven," she said as she smiled and ran her hand through his curly hair.

"I never knew that." He was amazed at the intimacy of it all. Only a significant other would notice this old, faded scar. He loved that he was learning new things about her, learning about her body, what she liked, what she reacted to.

"Do you have any other battle scars?"

"A couple."

"Yeah? Where are they? I wanna' see."

"Well, there isn't a scar on my arm, but here feel it. Right there. Feel that little bump? That's from when I broke it."

"YOU BROKE YOUR ARM?! When?"

"Josh it wasn't that big of a deal. I was eleven. They set it, put a big plaster cast on it, and I went home."

"Still, a broken bone. That's a big deal Donna. How did you do it?"

"I fell off a wooden fence at my friend's farm."

"Falling off a fence at a farm, Donna that is very Wisconsin-ish."

"Wisconsin-ish isn't a word Josh. You can fall off a fence anywhere."

"Still, I'm gonna' have to keep an eye on you anytime we are near a fence, I don't want you to break anything," he said as he placed a feather light kiss on her arm. "You said a couple, Donna. Where is the other scar?"

She hesitated before telling him. With a deep sigh she admitted, "My ankle, Josh." She knew he would put two and two together.

"Your ankle? From? Wait, don't tell me. Donna did you get this from the car accident when you left the campaign?" His blood was boiling just thinking about Dr. Freeride stopping for a beer on his way to pick her up.

"Yes. But it didn't need stitches or anything. Along with a sprain I got a pretty deep cut, it left a scar."

"I'm giving this one extra attention," he said as he made his way down to her right ankle, quickly locating the jagged little scar on the inside of her foot. He placed compassionate kisses there and gently massaged her ankle. "I'm sorry you were in a car accident, Donna."

"It's okay Josh, it brought me back to you."

They made love slowly that night. They had decided not to use a condom, which was a first for both of them. There was no need, since Donna was on the pill. They wanted to experience each other without a barrier. He remembers the look of deep adoration she gave him before their bodies physically connected for the first time. He remembers seeing her face flushed and the way her back arched as she climaxed, calling his name. He remembers how it felt to find his release deep inside her, how it felt to cry out her name in pleasure. They both fell asleep peacefully that night, wrapped around each other.

The following morning was no different. They woke up and smiled saying good morning to each other, which quickly led to making love in bed and then in the shower. Sure, life at the White House was going to be tough for a while for Josh, but for the first time he was okay with that. In the last 24 hours, his priorities had shifted drastically. The most important thing in his life was standing right in front of him, drying her hair and getting ready for work. His legislative portfolio, although important, was no longer his main focus. In fact, maybe this whole screw up with Senator Carrick is what allowed Josh to finally acknowledge his feelings for Donna and do something about it. If that's the case, then he wouldn't have done anything differently.

Having to get their day started, Josh left Donna's apartment with a duffle bag full of her clothes and what Josh called "girly bathroom products" for his apartment. They had agreed that since Josh's place was much closer to the White House, that they would be staying there more often. In the past, having a woman leave any sort of belongings at his place would have freaked Josh out. But with Donna, it felt incredibly right. Her belongings were meant to be tangled with his in his home.

He didn't go right to the White House after stopping by his apartment. Instead, he headed for a prominent Jeweler in Georgetown. He was going to marry Donna Moss, he had never been so sure of anything in his entire life. Josh saw the ring immediately, a round-cut sapphire stone, it reminded him of her eyes. He knew the moment he saw it that it belonged on her left hand. In his mind, he could picture the diamond band sparkling as she pushed her hair back. He imagined the bright blue stone shining on her hand as she bantered with him down the halls of the White House. Sapphire was also the September birthstone, Joanie's birthday was in September. Josh knew that his big sister would have loved Donna instantly, the way he did. He bought the ring, took a guess at the size of her ring finger with the help of the jeweler. It would be ready in two weeks for pickup.

Josh loved anniversaries, especially the ones he shared with Donna. She hates the April anniversary, he loves it. It's the anniversary she came back to him for good. He thinks it's the perfect day to propose, his argument being that it will make her love the April anniversary moving forward. She only acknowledges their February anniversary.

Patience isn't Josh's strong-suit, but he knows he wants to wait and propose to her on April 7th. Ideally, he wants to take her back to Manchester, New Hampshire for the weekend and propose at their old campaign headquarters. For now he has plenty of time to think about it and they have plenty of time to think about how they will go public with their relationship. They threw around the idea of making an announcement after the State of the Union Address. But for now, like they had discussed in bed this morning, they would enjoy their privacy. They would be Deputy Chief of Staff and assistant at work and Josh and Donna at home.

***Part Two to follow very shortly!***


	2. Chapter 2: S5 E15 Full Disclosure

Chapter Two: S5 E15 "Full Disclosure"

Note: Italics are used in this chapter to indicate that Josh is writing down or reciting rules. (Yupp, Josh has rules in this one!)

February 20th, 2004

Josh quietly walked into his apartment just after 11pm; the day had been unbelievably long. He had been pulling 12 to 14 hour days again, ever since Leo had given him his legislative portfolio back. He was out of the dog house, he was back in the room, pushing the agenda and making decisions. Between today's meetings with the Base Closing Commission and the D.C. Mayor, and the news of the Hoynes' article, Josh was downright exhausted. He let his backpack slide off his shoulder onto the bench in his foyer and left it there, he had no intention of looking at the briefings shoved in it. Continuing into the living room, he shrugged off his coat and dropped it on the back of the couch, he just didn't have the energy to hang it up. His back and neck were killing him, the direct result of a tension headache. No amount of back arching, shoulder rolling, or rubbing his temples was going to relieve him of pain this time, he had been trying these techniques all afternoon. The only thing that was going to make him feel better was currently laying in his bed, and she didn't even need to do anything, all she had to do was simply be there and he felt better. She soothed his soul, it was as simple as that. The thought made Josh smile. They had hardly spent any nights apart since July. Josh had brought a duffle bag of her clothes and girly bathroom products to his apartment after the first night they made love, and ever since then they had unofficially lived together.

The door to the bedroom was cracked open just slightly, enough to see the light from the TV contrasting the darkness of the room. She probably fell asleep watching CNN, Donna's been pretty tired these days. In an effort to be as quiet as he possibly could, he gently let himself into the bedroom, toed off his shoes, and carefully joined her on the bed.

"Josh?" Came Donna's sleepy voice.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered as he caressed her arm, delighting in the feel of her soft skin.

She reached for the light on the nightstand and turned to face him. "No, it's okay Josh, I was just nodding off. I was hoping I would get to say goodnight to you," she said quietly. He smiled at this, she didn't want to miss their new nightly routine, and neither did he.

"You look exhausted and I'm guessing you have a headache too, take off your suit jacket," she instructed as she got up and walked to the bathroom, returning with two ibuprofen and a glass of water. "Take these and drink this."

He smiled at her as he took the contents from her hand. Donna grabbed his suit jacket and put it on a hanger in the closet. She walked back to the bed and he placed his hands on her hips, his thumbs playing with the hem of the boxer shorts she was wearing. He loved seeing her in his clothes, especially when it's his boxers or his dress shirts. Donna immediately began to remove his tie and unbutton his shirt, placing soft kisses on his scars. He was always amazed at how quickly she could undress him, and he loved it. For some reason, it turned him on. But then again, almost everything Donna did turned him on.

He was too tired to banter and she was too. Instead, he let himself enjoy the feel of her hands massaging his shoulders, kneading his muscles and removing the knots, allowing his tension to dissipate. He let out a small groan as she moved to his neck.

"God, Donna that feels incredible."

"I have many hidden talents Joshua," she said with a coy smile.

"Don't I know it," he said seductively as he ran his hands under the old Yale Law t-shirt she was wearing, rubbing her back and lightly stroking her stomach.

"Josh," Donna sighed as her body started to go limp under his touch.

"Feel good baby?" He asked as he leaned forward and gently kissed her stomach.

"Mmmhmm." Donna stood there relaxed with her eyes closed, while her thumbs lightly rubbed his temples. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's touch in comfortable silence, letting the day's events wash away.

"Get back in bed, you've had a long day and I don't want you on your feet too long," Josh said in a silky tone as he kissed her palm.

"Kay," she answered sweetly, as she kissed his cheek and climbed back into bed. They had discussed this and Donna finally agreed that Josh was allowed to be a little bossy. At first, he had been a bit overbearing and overprotective. It came to a snapping point one afternoon about three weeks ago when Donna was eating a salad in his office. Josh let the memory wash over him as he got comfortable in bed . . .

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January 30th, 2004

Josh looked up from his hockey puck hamburger and grabbed her salad. "Donna you can't eat this! Blue cheese dressing can have lysteria in it!" He said as he dumped the contents of her salad into the trash before she had a chance to argue. Her back hurt, she was tired, Ryan kept bothering her, and she was hungry- boy was she hungry. Needless to say, it was not the day to tell Donna what she can and cannot have and certainly not the day to throw out her lunch. It was her breaking point.

"Oh my God, JOSH!" She was fuming as she said his name and got up from his visitor chair. "It wasn't blue cheese it was ranch dressing, which is perfectly acceptable for me to eat, but now I can't because YOU THREW MY LUNCH AWAY and that's all I had left to eat, I already ate everything else I brought with me today! GOD JOSH, PLEASE STOP OVERREACTING, JUST STOP, OKAY!?" She was so upset that she didn't pause between her words and was practically shouting.

"Donna, wait, please? I'm sorry I . . ."

"No Josh, I'm not waiting. I need to go find something to eat. Leave me alone. If you need something, ask Ryan for it." And with that she opened the door to his office and left, but not before Josh noticed that she was wiping tears from her eyes and quickly trying to regain her composure. "Damn it," he mumbled to himself as he shoved his elbows onto his desk and roughly ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

Josh got home at 6pm that evening. He hadn't seen Donna the rest of the day and was getting worried. In the years that he had known her, they had hardly ever gone a whole afternoon without speaking. The only time he could really recall that happening was when he found out she had gone out with Cliff Calley, twice. Thinking about it made him sick to his stomach. He had ignored her and then she came to him for help when she was scared and vulnerable and his reaction had been to yell at her for lying during her deposition. And then he had yelled at her again today about her lunch. He felt like a jerk. But while he was lost in his thoughts, Donna had walked into the living room and wrapped her arms around him tightly. He was so shocked that it took him a few seconds to respond, but when he did, he hugged her like he was never going to let go. He buried his face into her neck, and let her hair drape around his face. He brought his hands to her face and kissed her soft lips, they were a little puffy- most likely from crying, and it tugged at his heart. He kissed her with so much emotion, he wanted to convey to her just how sorry he was.

"I'm sorry Donna. I just want to be good at this," he whispered, as he looked into her blue eyes and lightly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh Josh," she paused and sniffled, "YOU ARE going to be good at this- great even. I should be apologizing to you. I shouldn't have yelled at you in your office today. I'm sorry for that. I was having a really bad day and I took it out on you. Also, umm hormones had something to do with it, I think." She gently rubbed his back to calm him.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you and thrown away your lunch. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I've been overbearing, I know. I just . . ." he looked down for a moment to collect his thoughts. She waited patiently, knowing he was looking for the right words. He ran his hands slowly up and down her sides and continued, "I'm overbearing and overprotective, because I've lost my dad and Joanie. I have a deep seeded desire and need to protect the people I love, and I love you and Baby Lyman so much. He tried to stifle the cry that he felt building in his chest, but he just couldn't. He let out a sob and allowed his tears to fall, while placing his hand reverently on her still flat stomach. He had only known about the baby for two weeks, but he was already filled with a kind of love that he had never known before.

"It's okay to cry baby, let it out," Donna reassured him as she placed her hand on top of his and lovingly continued to rub his back with the other. He pressed his cheek to hers and quietly cried while Donna comforted him.

After a few minutes, Josh regained his composure and kissed the tip of her nose, then her lips. "I didn't like not talking to you all afternoon. It reminded me of the last time that we didn't speak-"

"Cliff?" Donna interjected.

"Yeah. I didn't handle that situation very well. I'm sorry for giving you the silent treatment, I'm sorry that I was being such a jerk that you couldn't come to me for advice on the deposition, that you had to go to Sam instead. I'm really sorry I yelled at you about the diary Donna."

"Josh?" Donna asked curiously as she tilted her head to the side and gave him a little smile before continuing, "Josh it was years ago. I put you in a really difficult situation. I should have just answered the question and I shouldn't have gone out with Cliff on a second date. I should be thanking you for taking care of the situation, for taking care of me. You don't need to apologize for anything."

"Sweetheart, I shouldn't have yelled at you and I shouldn't have ignored you. I should have reacted better."

She looked at him and smiled, the kind of smile that twinkled, that had a hidden message, promising more. "How about we forgive each other for the diary and Cliff mess, and put it behind us for good? And how about we find a good compromise where you feel like you are protecting and taking care of me and our raspberry sized baby? We can even make rules- rules that I have to follow, rules that you can enforce?"

"Wait, I get to enforce the rules? I get to be the enforcer? Donnatella, are you sure you want to give me that kind of power?"

"Well, Mr. Lyman, seeing as how I am helping you write the rules, I guess you can be the enforcer of said rules," she replied playfully.

He looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows, "I drink from the keg of glory, Donna!"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes and laugh at that as she pulled him down the hall to the bedroom.

"Wait, our kid is the size of a raspberry? Where did you get this information?"

"The Internet, Josh. You can find all sorts of important information."

"Our baby is tiny. Tiny Lyman."

"You won't be saying that when our baby is the size of a watermelon."

"When's that?"

"About 31 weeks from now."

"Why is our growing baby measured in fruit? Why can't they measure . . ." he lost his train of thought as Donna removed her tank top and laid on his bed in nothing but her pajama pants.

"Do you want to keep talking Josh? Or do you want to have the makeup sex that I've been fantasizing about since I got home this afternoon?"

"Sex! Sex is good, it's better than good, it's amazing. You're amazing, it's . . ."

"Josh quit talking and get over here."

"Oh my God yes! I'm coming over to the bed."

"Good, because I'm insatiable and I need you."

Her response ignited something in him. The idea of sex was fun and exhilarating, but he all of a sudden had a deep desire to make love to her. He needed their bodies and souls to connect. He wanted to show her how much he cared about her, how much he loved her. She must have noticed the look on his face, because her demeanor changed too. He tore off his tie and shirt, and gently lay beside her. His hands started exploring her body, slowly removing her pajama pants. He gently kissed her neck and ear before whispering, "I need you too, Donnatella. I want to make love to you, we can save sex for another time."

"Make love to me, Joshua."

Later, they lay snuggled on the couch together in their pajamas with a half-eaten pizza box on the coffee table and a variety of Ben and Jerry's ice cream pints. "I have one more rule to add to the Josh Lyman Rule Book", Josh said as he offered her another spoonful of Vanilla Caramel Swirl.

"Is it you feeding me ice cream every night? Because I could get on board with that."

"Ha-ha, no, but we can add that if you like."

She looked at him for a moment, and he knew she was seriously considering it.

"You know what baby, I'm pregnant. So if I want ice cream every single night for the next 32 weeks, then I'm having it. Make it official, write it down. Oh and give me another bite of that and then pass me the Phish Food, and then the Peanut Butter Cup."

" _Rule 9- Donna gets to have ice cream whenever she damn well pleases. Baby Daddy will be responsible for stocking the freezer_. How's that sound?"

"Perfect!" Donna responded with a smile and a mouth full of ice cream. "Now what was the last rule you wanted to add?"

" _Rule 10_ , which is actually very similar to _Rule 9_ , states that _the Baby Daddy's office will ALWAYS have snacks in there so that the mama-to-be will never have to worry about getting hungry again_." He put the pen and paper down and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her ear. "I hate that you had to leave my office this afternoon feeling hungry. That should never have happened, and it's never going to happen ever again. After you left my office, I ran to the nearest grocery store and stocked my mini-fridge with Donnatella essentials, including yogurt, but I made sure I got Greek yogurt, because ya know that's the best type of yogurt to have during pregnancy. I know we can't put icecream in there, so I improvised and got chocolate pudding snack packs. Oh and there are bananas on top of the mini fridge, bananas and danishes. I put goldfish in my desk, which I know C.J. likes, so you may not want to tell her they're there, cuz she may eat them all. I also got pretzels, and uhh what else? Let's see, oh I got you that bran cereal stuff that you like, or whatever it is that doesn't taste good. I almost grabbed Capn' Crunch, but I figured you would make me throw it away once you discovered that I had it. There's a small thing of milk in the fridge for your cereal too. I also grabbed a variety of decaf tea bags, I know it helps with your morning sickness and I don't want you to have to go to the danish cart or mess just to grab a tea bag, especially when you don't feel well."

"Joshua Lyman, you are the most thoughtful man. Thank you for doing that for me. God, you're making me cry. Damn hormones!"

He chuckled a little bit at her response and knew full well that she had a pout on her face, even though he couldn't see it from his angle. 'Well you're very welcome. I want to take care of you and our kid. _Rule 1, Josh gets to take care of Donna, and Donna let's him._ Now have another bite of this ice cream, it will take your mind off the hormones and take care of that pout I know you have on your face."

"You don't have to tell me twice baby. Now let's go back to the bedroom and invoke rule number 3!"

"Oh Jesus, Donna, I love that rule."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The memory made Josh smile, his mind coming back to the present as Donna nestled down into the warm comforter next to him. He took off his pants and threw them towards the closet. "I will hang those up in the morning, I promise Donna."

She laughed at that. "I'm pregnant and too tired to care, Josh. You get a pass."

"You were pretty tired today, huh?" He asked as he started to rub her leg and hip.

"Yeah, more so than usual. I was about to fall asleep during the Base Closing Commission meeting."

"Ha! You and I both, and I'm not even pregnant. Then Ryan nearly gave me a heart attack with that little stunt he pulled with Congressman Finn."  
"It worked though, didn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah it worked. I guess the kid has picked up some things along the way. Oh and speaking of the Base Closing Commission, care to tell me why you were carrying a box from my office to the Roosevelt Room for the meeting?"

"God, I was so tired, I didn't even realize I was carrying it until we stared at each other in the hall and I handed it off to you. Still, it's a good cover up. I mean if I'm carrying a box down the hall then no one is going to suspect that I'm pregnant, right?"

"Donna, the only thing you need to be worrying about carrying is our growing baby," he said affectionately as he slowly lifted her t-shirt and began to rub her slightly swollen belly. "Speaking of growing baby, Baby Lyman is the size of what fruit this week?"

"11 weeks, so the size of a lime."

"Lime . . . "Baby Lime-on". That makes sense," Josh said with a chuckle. Full dimples and all.

"You're clever Mr. Lyman. Just wait until week 14, we can start calling our baby "Baby Lemon-Lyman".

"Oh, whose clever now Donnatella? He asked slyly as he slid down the bed and positioned himself between her legs.

"Starting our nightly routine, baby?"

"You know it. I saved what little energy I had left from the day to enjoy this," he said as he placed both hands on either side of her belly and started planting gentle kisses on her little bump. Donna, in kind, lightly ran her fingers through Josh's hair and smiled in anticipation, waiting to hear what Josh wanted to talk to their baby about this evening.

"Hi Baby Lyman. I'm sorry I got home kinda' late tonight. Do you keep time in there? Did you know that you're the size of a lime this week? That's pretty incredible. Your mommy is doing an amazing job of growing you. You must have been hungry today, I think your mom ate three pudding packs, two bowls of cereal, two danishes, and several handfuls of goldfish. And that's just the stuff that I saw her eat. When you're old enough, I will introduce you to Capn' Crunch and Lucky Charms, that's the good stuff. But we won't tell mom, okay? We can meet in the kitchen at 4:00 in the morning and eat cereal together, my Dad and I used to do that when I was a kid. He had to get up really early sometimes for work."

The story made Donna smile, but it also made her heart ache for Josh. Losing his Dad had been hard on him, and she knew that it pained him that their baby would never have the chance to meet their grandfather. It pained her too. Right then and there she made a promise to herself that they would talk about Grandpa Noah with their children, to tell stories about him, show them pictures, and keep his memory alive.

"So let me tell you about today, baby," Josh continued as he carefully moved to Donna's side. He propped himself up on his left elbow and rested his head in his hand. "It was really busy. I know I tell you that every night, but today was exhausting. Although I shouldn't complain about this to you, because you're busy growing in there every day and _that_ takes a lot of work. You're probably more exhausted than me and you're probably thinking, "Suck it up, Dad!" Josh paused for a moment to smile at Donna as he continued to gently rub her belly. She affectionately placed her hand over his and squeezed it before letting it drift back to his thick wavy hair where it settled on the curls behind his ear. "So I got stuck in this boring meeting, but at least your mom was there too. She had to suffer with me. Then, all of a sudden, Toby needed Ed and Larry to join him in his meeting with the union leaders, because apparently, they're the experts on bras. I didn't get all the details, but I know a lot about bras too. Why didn't Toby ask me to go? It was so unfair . . ."

"Josh, you are _not_ a bra expert."

"I am too Donnatella," Josh huffed as his eyes darted up to her.

"Josh, just last week you couldn't figure out how to take off the bra I was wearing."

"Okay, that's because it was one of those weird bras. I get a pass for that. And quit interrupting my conversation with our baby."

"Go on," she said in an effort to appease him.

"Anyway. So tonight I had a meeting in the Oval Office with President Bartlet and the D.C. Mayor. One day you will get to visit the Oval Office. Maybe you will even get to sit behind the Resolute Desk. I think I can pull some strings to make that happen, I know a few people. So the president had planned on vetoing a bill that the Mayor wanted him to sign. The bill included a school voucher pilot program for a few hundred kids. But here is the problem Baby Lyman, school voucher programs go against the Democratic Party's values. By the way, that's the political party you want to be a part of. When you're born, I will make sure you have a stuffed animal donkey, ah-kay? We want to give more money to public schools to make them better, so that kids don't feel like they need to go to a private school, that they can get just as good of an education in their local public school. But guess what?! President Bartlet signed the bill! **He-signed-the-bill**. Want to know why? Because Charlie told him that he wished there had been a voucher program when he went to school. You see, sometimes you need to hear another point of view, an opinion different from your own. That's one of the things I love so much about your mommy. She always helps me see things from another perspective. She makes me a better Deputy Chief Staff and . . ." Josh paused to look at Donna before continuing, "A better man." Donna, quickly becoming verklempt, brings her hand to his cheek, and he leans in to kiss her palm.

"So little one that was your Daddy's day. I could tell you more about what John Hoynes is up to, but I really don't want to bother you with that. I think reading a bedtime story is a far better use of our time," Josh says as he leans over to his nightstand and pulls out a children's book. He smiles when his eyes catch on the ring box hidden in the back. "Forty-six more days until April 7th. . . Forty-six more days until I get to ask Donnatella Moss to marry me . . ." Josh thought to himself with a smile.

"So this one is called Where the Wild Things Are," he says as he opens the book. "I chose this one, because the author is from Connecticut, like me. Tomorrow night, we can read Chrysanthemum, the author is from Wisconsin, like your mama. Then we can read The Bunnies' Trip, because the author is from Washington DC, just like you Baby Lyman." And with that, Josh lightly nuzzled Donna's belly with his nose before placing a gentle kiss there and started reading.

It didn't take long for Donna to fall asleep. Josh heard her deep and steady breathing about five pages in and knew that she was out for the night. When he finished reading, he kissed their unborn baby good night and turned off the light on Donna's nightstand. He carefully snuggled himself behind her warm body, pulling the comforter up around them and resting his hand protectively on her abdomen. Donna had just recently started to show, and Josh was mesmerized by it. She's able to hide it at work still, but at home when she's wearing a tank top or no shirt at all, it is absolutely clear that there is a baby growing in there. But for now, her pregnancy is their secret, the same way their relationship is their secret. Of course they live together, but Donna still had the lease on her apartment. They decided that would be best for keeping up appearances. She would get rid of her apartment and "officially" move in with Josh once they shared the news of their relationship. As he started to fall asleep, Josh thought about the plans they had made together.

When they first got together back in July, the night Josh had screamed at the Capitol building, they had thrown around the idea of going public with their relationship immediately after the State of the Union address. They had agreed that they wanted to just enjoy their privacy for a while before having to deal with the press and the Republican Party.

That whole plan went to hell on January 16th, four days before the State of the Union address. Josh had been pacing his office that evening, between the pardons and the last minute changes to the State of the Union, he was having a fit and his blood pressure was probably up to an unbelievable all-time high. He had been arguing back and forth with Toby on the phone when Donna quietly stepped into his office. She saw how he looked: overworked, stressed, and on edge. He reached his hand out to her and she went into his arms, knowing he needed to hold her, it always helped him calm down. Resting their foreheads together, Donna took his hand and kissed his palm before gently placing his hand on her stomach, Josh's breath caught in his throat, he hung up on Toby and dropped the phone, and he looked at her with big brown questioning eyes, a small smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

"Donna, are you . . . Are we having . . ."

"Mmmhmmm, there's a little Lyman in there. I'm six weeks along Josh," she whispered, smiling as she ran her hands through his curly hair, her eyes glistening.

His small smile turned into full on dimples. He let out a noise, something between a laugh and a cry, his eyes starting to water. His hand resting protectively on their baby growing inside her calmed him instantly. All of the stress about the upcoming State of the Union melted away. Josh had never known he had wanted something so much until it was right there in front of him, making him happier than he ever thought possible. Nothing else mattered at that moment, they would make a new plan.

Coming back from his thoughts, just before sleep completely washed over him, Josh smiled and kissed Donna's cheek, whispering to her while she slept, "Donna I know we are always talking about making a plan, but I gotta' tell ya, sometimes the best things in life aren't planned. We created life with our love, and that's better than any plan."

Thanks for reading! If anyone is interested in a chapter on the proposal and/or how they tell everyone about their relationship and Baby Lyman, let me know. I would be happy to write it. Also, I'm currently working on an AU that begins with Josh in Law School and I'm planning to start writing Chapter 2 for "The Midterms" next week. Have a great weekend!


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